G’day Dear Crissy readers! My name is Stacie Vaughan and I blog over at Simply Stacie. I live in the beautiful Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada. I’m excited to be here today to share with you a Canadian classic dish— poutine!
Image © depositphotos/bhofack2
I was shocked when Crissy and I were chatting about food one day and I told her how much I loved poutine. She was puzzled and thought I was saying something dirty! I guess the word does sound a little strange if you’ve never heard of it before. I quickly educated her on this Canadian icon and told her that she simply must try it, even if she has to make it at home herself!
You are probably wondering what the heck is poutine and why is it so well-loved by our northern neighbours. Don’t worry, I will explain!
All about poutine
Poutine originated in Quebec in the late 50s and its popularity quickly spread across Canada. It’s a pretty basic dish—French fries topped with brown gravy and cheese curds. To assemble, place your cooked French fries on a plate, top with cheese and pour the hot gravy on top. The gravy will cause the cheese to melt and make a gooey (but delicious) mess. Yes, this is literally a hot mess! I know that cheese curds can be hard to find in some areas. I use shredded mozzarella cheese if I can’t find any in my grocery store.
I remember everyone eating poutine in the cafeteria at lunch hour when I was in high school. I had it every once in awhile. It’s very filling. Some of my fellow classmates used to put ketchup on top of their poutine and I remember thinking that I would not want to do that with my poutine! Unless you really love ketchup, don’t use it on poutine.
Poutine is almost everywhere you go in Canada. You can find it in most fast food restaurants here like McDonalds, A&W, Burger King, etc. Other sit-down restaurants will often have it on their menu, unless it’s a fancy restaurant that I probably wouldn’t be at anyways!
The best poutines, in my humble opinion, are the ones served at chip trucks. I’ve lived in four different provinces across Canada and have never seen as many chip trucks as I do here in the Ottawa Valley. Asking yourself what a chip truck is? They are trucks that set up in a parking lot, park or side of the road and sell food right out of their truck. Most of the food is your typical greasy fare like French fries, fries and gravy and of course, poutine. I craved chip truck poutine so badly when I was living in Edmonton. I could find a chip truck anywhere! If you ever see one, go check it out!
If you don’t live near a chip truck, don’t despair! You can make your own poutine at home. I found a poutine recipe that looks just like the poutine served here in Canada.
For those of you who like to get a little creative with your meals, I found 10 unique variations of poutine that you can try. All of them look so good!
10 perfectly delicious poutine recipes
1. Authentic Vegetarian Poutine — A vegetarian alternative! This recipe uses gravy made from Shitake mushrooms, onions and vegan broth.
2. Poutine Latkes — Uses potato latkes instead of French fries for a tasty Hannukah treat.
3. Sweet Potato Poutine — Topped with crispy turkey bacon and covered in a cranberry gravy sauce with fried sage.
4. Lobster Poutine — Succulent chunks of lobster topped with a creamy cheese sauce.
5. Turkey Dinner Poutine — Topped with leftover turkey, stuffing and gravy. This reminds me of a Newfie poutine.
6. Pulled Pork Poutine — Crispy French fries topped with slow cooked pulled pork and melted cheese.
7. Bacon Poutine — Because everything tastes better with bacon, even poutine!
8. Indian Style Poutine — Oven fries spiced with Garam Masala and topped with a creamy butter chicken sauce and melty cheese.
9. Shepherd’s Poutine — A meaty version made with tender pieces of lamb shoulder, cheese curds and gravy.
10. Corned Beef Poutine — Corned beef piled onto fresh, hot fries and topped with a Guinness gravy.
I seriously shouldn’t have been writing this post while I’m starving because now all I can think about is a hot plate of poutine! My hips are saying “no”, but my stomach is demanding that I find a chip truck and get a poutine STAT.
Tell us what you think
I’m curious. How many of you have heard of poutine before? If so, have you ever tried it?
10 Comments on “10 Delicious Poutine Recipes”
I sure wish I could order poutine at a restaurant near by!!!! I have heard of it but only on TV. The show was called, The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the cooking channel. The restaurant fried the potatoes in duck fat instead of veg oil. I had to try it! I think that I used too much gravy though. It was still tasty but could have been better.
The only way Poutine can be replicated is if you have the specific gravy. Curd cheese is difficult to find but the gravy makes the dish. Where can you buy the gravy? I would buy a case of it if I could!
Hey guys, I live in Ontario (Canada) and yesterday I had a Shawarma poutine! So poutine can be adapted to every taste, as long as you’ve got potatoes, some sort of sauce, and cheese! Over the years we’ve had breakfast poutine, pizza-poutine, duck poutine etc. Take it where your imagination leads, have fun, and enjoy!! P.S. Since it’s July 1st today – happy bday CANADA! =)
I haven’t seen cheese curds sold in a store since I moved back down south, I have some shredded pepper jack though. I think this will be my dinner tonight…..Thanks for the idea.
How do you make cheese curds?
Only 4 comments about poutine!
I live in northern Maine and have loved poutine since ’88, after my first visit to Maine. Yes, mozzarella in a pinch will do, but real curd cheese with the right gravy is absolutely divine :)
I lived in Vancouver, British Columbia for a year, but it was over a decade ago, and I hadn’t ever heard of this until now . Hmm, interesting. I love fries and ketchup. Not gravy so much though. Cheese – yum! Since I live in the States, I’d probably have to make my own to taste test it. Thanks for sharing! Now, off to email all my Canadian friends to see if they’ve had it before.
I remember having Wet Fries (only gracy) while visiting Chicago as a kid and then later at home, i added cheese and gravy to fries and it was awesome, but I didn’t know it had a name until much later, i just thought it was delicious.
Definitely the best food ever! Thanks for including my sweet potato poutine!!
Thanks Stacie for sharing.Hard to believe people outside of Canada are not familiar with poutine!